1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of vending machines and, more particularly, to a product discharge and delivery system that releases a selected product towards a dispensing chamber for delivery to a consumer.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Vending machines for dispensing canned and/or bottled beverages have long been known. Early model vending machines release similarly sized bottles, one at a time, following deposit of the required purchase amount. In order to withdraw the selected product from the vending machine, the purchaser was required to, for example, manually remove a beverage container through a release mechanism on a shelf. Over time, manufacturers developed various mechanisms for releasing products from vending machines. The arrangements range from a more conventional mechanism wherein the products are guided to a chute, often times along a serpentine path, into a delivery port, to more unique mechanisms that shift a transport carrier to a point adjacent a selected product, receive the selected product and then deliver the selected product to the consumer.
Once at a dispensing chamber, the product must be discharged from the transport system. Various mechanisms have been employed to discharge the selected product from the transport system into the dispensing chamber. In one example, the product is simply run along the conveyor belt into a dispensing area. In another example, the selected product is ejected from a shifting carriage and allowed to fall into the dispensing chamber. More specifically, once at the dispensing chamber, a motor is activated to operate cams and/or linkages to eject the product from the carriage.
In order to retrieve the selected product, the consumer must access the dispensing chamber. Typically, this is accomplished through a door. Generally, the door is hinged at an upper portion and coupled to an anti-pilfer device. As the door is opened, a mechanism, interconnecting the door and the anti-pilfer device, causes the anti-pilfer device to close off access to product shelves. The mechanism moves the anti-pilfer device quickly so that opening the product delivery door will begin to shift a plate or door to completely cut-off access to additional stored products. However, in many cases, opening the product delivery door slightly will provide enough room for a tool to be inserted up into the storage/display section. Particularly in the area of beverage vending machines, it is becoming increasingly difficult to provide a dispensing chamber large enough to accommodate the increased size of product containers while, at the same time, providing an anti-pilfer mechanism that completely prevents access to stored products.
Despite the various mechanisms employed in the prior art to transport a selected product from a display portion to a delivery portion of a vending machine and discharge the product to a consumer, there still exists a need for an enhanced product discharge and delivery mechanism for a vending machine. More specifically, there exists a need for a discharge and delivery system that is not only simple to operate and easy to maintain, but also incorporates an effective anti-pilfer device for the vending machine.